Black on Black Murder!

In the December third addition of the Columbus Dispatch there was an Op/Ed piece by syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.. It was titled, "Another Day in Black America, Yet another Violent Death." This article hit home with me in a profound way, it forced me to think about this issue and inspired this opinion piece. In this eloquent and well written article Mr. Pitts commented on a very difficult problem or society faces today, Black on Black murder in America.

The article flows in an almost poetic fashion while addressing a very difficult topic. It also imparted some statistical information we are, at this point, all too familiar with. It begins by tying the murder of the Professional Football player Sean Taylor, shot in his home at the young age of twenty four, to the murders of all black men who are victims of Black on Black crime.

Mr. Pitts is one voice, a black voice expressing his despair, one black voice of despair amongst the multitude. In his article he states, "We die and it goes unremarked, die so much it's hardly news anymore." He then proceeded to make a couple poignant statements. "...12 percent of the nation is 50 percent of the murder victims and it's mainly business as usual. No Government task force convenes to tell us why this is. No rally cries ring from podiums and pulpits. Crowds do not march as they did in Jena, La., demanding justice."

In my opinion Mr. Pitts couldn't be more spot on in his commentary. I work in the Correctional Field and I witness young Black men coming into the system day in and day out, per capita far in excess of any other ethnic group in America. My position puts me indirect contact with these young men and leaves me with a very unique perspective on the matter. My feelings, based on experience, run deep on this matter. I feel that one of the basic geneses of this problem is a manifestation of the failed family unit in poor Black communities. I suspect that there are many others that hold the same opinion as I do, be they Black or White.